A/N: Hey guys! I decided to write this because I wasn't happy with Mary's ending on the show. I also wanted to tell you guys that I do plan on continuing my main story, even though the show is over, and I'll still be following my own story line. Without further ado, enjoy this one shot!
Mary stood before the prison doors, pacing nervously as she waited to be released back into the town she had once known as her home. She already felt more comfortable, having been allowed to change back into her normal black attire. She was just now waiting for her prison guard to open the doors, and set her free.
"So what are you going to do, now that you're free?" The heavyset white male, a stereotypical prison guard that you would see in movies, asked her. She hadn't seen him much in the year she had been imprisoned.
"I think I'll go see my daughter, maybe my niece, if they'll accept me." Mary explained. She didn't know if she would be shunned away from the women she loved, a lot could've changed in a year. "I'd also like to find whoever got me out, and thank them."
The man laughed, "You mean you don't know? Only the best lawyer could get you off two first degree murder charges, don't ask me how you got her on your side."
Mary grew puzzled, still having no idea what the guard was talking about. She hoped the walk down this long corridor would come to an end soon. "Who?" She asked.
"Veronica Hastings, of course." The man scoffed, most of the prisoners only dreamed of having her on their case, this woman had gotten her help without even knowing it. "Who else?"
Suddenly, the woman that had slipped Mary's mind in the past year, was the only thing she could think about. Even after their horrible past, Veronica had helped her, but why?
"It's time." The man said, looking to Mary to see if she was ready to face the world again. Mary gave him a slight nod, and with that, she was free.
The door opened and she stepped into the sun, breathing in the fresh air and the surroundings, for once not from behind a fence. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she let her skin soak up the sun she had so desperately wanted to experience on her own again. She no longer had to be afraid, no longer had to be on the run, she could go home. The only problem was, she didn't know where home was anymore.
"Mom?"
Mary opened her eyes and turned around, seeing the last person she expected, but the person she had wanted to see the most, standing in front of her. She nearly fell to the ground, weeping with joy.
"Spencer."
She ran into her daughter's arms, finally being able to hold her after what seemed like an eternity. She sobbed into Spencer's shoulder, holding so tight she was afraid she might hurt the girl. "Spencer I'm so sorry." She tried to apologize through tears, after everything that had happened with Alex, all she had done to hurt her without knowing it. "I love you, and I'm sorry for ever hurting you."
"I love you too." Spencer replied, holding onto the woman she never thought she would see again. "And you don't need to apologize anymore." she tried to explain, her tears flowing freely now as well. "Mom, I'm sorry I didn't visit, didn't get you out sooner."
Mary pulled away, wiping one of the tears off her daughter's face. She was shocked at just how much Spencer had grown in a year. "Don't you start apologizing, you got me out, even after I lied to you, hurt you so terribly. I don't deserve a daughter as kind as you." She sobbed out, still not believing that this was happening.
"You deserve to be free, and now you are, and you never have to worry about running, or being afraid ever again." Spencer informed her mother with a smile, pulling her into another embrace. She reached into her pocket and pulled out tissues to wipe their eyes. "So much has happened in Rosewood in a year, it's finally safe again."
"Why don't you show me everything I missed?" Mary suggested, a smile plastered wide across her face, she couldn't remember ever being this happy, not in a long while.
The first place Spencer decided to take her mother on the grand tour of the town, was her office, so she could see where the base of operations was. It was here, in this building, that they had devised the plan to get her out of prison.
The car stopped suddenly on the side street, causing Mary to look up at the building just outside her window, the gold lettering read, 'Hastings & Hastings Law Office.'
"This is where I work now." Spencer said, a smile forming on her face, she was quite proud of herself. "I'm a lawyer, with my… mom." She hesitated on the last word.
Mary wiped a tear, looking to her daughter. "I'm so proud of you, this is all you've ever wanted, and here you are, living your dream." Even without her, Spencer had grown up, she had become the woman she always wanted to be.
"I have almost everything I ever wanted, except you." Spencer explained, her life, her dream, was never going to be complete without both of her mothers at her side. "Let's stop in, I think there's someone you should meet."
Mary got out of the car cautiously, still taking in the surroundings around her. She no longer had to be worried about watching her back, scared of being jumped in her sleep. Now she was out in the open, in the middle of town, with children laughing, people talking. Life had gone on without her in Rosewood, she could tell that much.
"I'm sorry if it's a little overwhelming for you." Spencer broke through her thoughts, realizing the woman hadn't moved. "I know after a year of prison it must be surreal, coming back to this."
"It is." Mary admitted, knowing that adjusting back to normal would take longer than she might like. "But I'll figure it out, I always do."
Spencer grabbed her mother's hand, leading her away from the busy sidewalks and shops, and into the quiet office. Mary looked around in here as well, remembering it as Veronica's campaign office where she had visited her daughter once before. And in just a year, it was transformed into a beautiful law office, two desks sitting parallel to each other. One read 'Spencer Hastings', the other 'Veronica Hastings.'
"Looks like everything got a remodel while I was away." Mary remarked, looking at the exquisite decor that only the fanciest of tastes could've chosen. "Sure as hell beats Veronica's face plastered all over the walls." She finished, cracking a smile to her daughter, who let out a chuckle.
"I don't know if I should be offended by that or not." Came a sharp, but clear, voice from behind the two women, a sound Mary could recognize from a mile away. Even though she hadn't heard it in nearly a decade, Mary could never forget the voice of Veronica Hastings.
Spencer smiled, seeing the two women lock eyes for a moment. It was already going better than she expected, as they hadn't killed each other yet. "Mary, meet Veronica. Veronica, meet Mary."
Mary realized quickly that Spencer had no idea of their past, apparently it was a detail Veronica had left out of her adoption explanation. The woman shot her a pleading look, as if begging her to keep quiet about it.
"Nice to meet you Veronica." Mary said with a smile, offering her hand.
"The pleasure is mine, really." Veronica responded, helping her keep up the ruse by shaking her hand. She glanced over the woman, not sure why exactly. For just getting out of prison after a year, Mary didn't look half bad. She was considerably thinner, and had huge muscles, but maybe that was just because the last time she saw her was when they were twenty years old. Still, the woman couldn't help but imagine what it might feel like to be held in those strong arms.
Spencer cleared her throat, causing both women to break out of their daze. "If it wasn't for Veronica, and this place, our plan would've never worked, and you wouldn't be standing here with us." Spencer explained, still grateful to her mother for helping Mary.
Mary looked at Veronica with gratitude, wiping a tear that was falling down her face. "So it's true, you really got me out?" It still felt too surreal for her, that she was standing somewhere besides behind the walls of a prison or an insane asylum.
Veronica nodded, blushing a bit. "Yes, I did. But if Spencer wouldn't have convinced me, I never would've gone along with it." She cleared up her reasoning, remembering the slight hesitance she had. Getting a clinically insane woman off two first degree murder charges was a virtually impossible task, and yet, together they had done it.
"Of course." Mary nodded, realizing that the woman was doing her best not to be hostile towards her. She knew they wouldn't be back to the way they used to be immediately, that it would take time.
"We have another stop to make." Spencer declared, turning to Mary and beckoning for her to follow, the conversation having turned awkward. Spencer walked out the door, Mary close behind, but she stopped dead in her tracks.
Mary turned back, pulling Veronica into a hug impulsively, not caring about keeping up the facade now that Spencer was gone. "Thank you, for saving my life."
Veronica held onto Mary tightly for a moment, her mind wandering back to the days when they could hug and no questions would be asked, no eyebrows raised. That's when she realized what she was doing, comforting the woman she was supposed to hate. In that moment, she was glad she had let her daughter convince her to take the woman's case.
Veronica took a deep breath, loosening her grip on Mary a little as she realized she was nearly suffocating her. "Please, don't tell her about us." Veronica begged, looking at Mary seriously. "It would make things so much more complicated and I don't want that." She moved a piece of Mary's long hair behind her ear.
"I don't want that either." Mary said, seeing the hesitation in Veronica's eyes as she relaxed a little. "But I feel like things are already complicated." Complicated was an understatement, especially since she was standing there in Veronica's arms, talking about their past relationship.
"What do you mean?" Veronica asked genuinely before realizing what she meant, she took her hands off Mary's shoulders.
"Why did you get me out, I mean besides helping Spencer, why?" Mary asked her, knowing it went deeper than just doing her daughter a favor. "You haven't seen me in twenty years, you don't owe me anything, so why?"
Veronica looked away, not expecting to have to answer this question. "Because I couldn't watch you suffer, Mary, not again." She admitted finally. "You're a good woman, you deserve freedom, happiness, love, all of it." Spencer had told her the truth about what happened to Dunhill, and she couldn't let Mary, yet again the innocent one, serve a sentence that wasn't hers.
"Everyone's telling me what I deserve and don't deserve today." Mary said with a small chuckle due to the irony. "What I deserve is an eternal life in hell for all I've done, and prison was close enough."
Veronica took her hands, "Fine, I won't use the word 'deserve'. How about, you have people here who love you, who want the best for you, who want you to be happy."
Mary was about to counter the argument by bringing up her niece, who was no doubt still angered at the fact she killed her mother. She stopped though, pulling away from Veronica after hearing footsteps.
Spencer stuck her head back in the door, "Moms? Are you alright?" She wanted to make sure that they hadn't done anything drastic.
"We're fine." Mary said, turning from her daughter to Veronica again. "We can finish our conversation later."
Veronica nodded, realizing that she had to keep up the act instead of responding what she really wanted to. "Sounds like a plan, maybe we can grab lunch one day." She suggested, realizing that this had worked out better than expected.
"I think I might like that." Mary said with a smile before turning around and following Spencer out.
Spencer and Mary sat in the car for a minute or two, Spencer trying to process what she had just witnessed. She sat back in her seat, hitting her head against the headrest. She couldn't believe both of her mothers would try and keep whatever past they had from her.
"Did my mother just ask you out on a date?" Spencer asked, breaking the silence between them finally.
Mary considered this for a moment, "I didn't think it was a date, isn't she married to your father?" She looked at her daughter, reading the pain in her face as she started to drive, having gone silent at the mention of him. "Spencer I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit a nerve…"
"They're divorced, another thing that happened in the year you missed." Spencer said with finality. She changed her tone of voice, trying to lighten the mood a little. "So are you going to take her up on the offer?"
Spencer turned the corner, driving towards the wooded part of town. Mary realized Spencer hadn't yet told her where they were going.
"I don't know, should I?" Mary asked her daughter's opinion. She still wasn't even sure if Veronica meant it as a date.
"Why don't you start by telling me the truth so I don't have to ask?" Spencer began, knowing that there was more behind this than originally thought.
Mary turned to her daughter, realizing she had been caught. "The truth about what?"
Before Spencer could answer, the car pulled up and parked in front of the Lost Woods, her mother's old home. Mary had expected them to sell it, or demolish it for money, but they hadn't. In fact, Spencer and Alison had turned it into a beautiful new establishment.
Mary surveyed the exterior of her once old, beaten down motel, shocked at what it had become. "You kept it?" She asked in disbelief as she followed Spencer out of the car.
Spencer smiled upon seeing her mother so happy. "Not only did I keep it, I refurbished it, just like it used to be. I have one more surprise though." She smiled as she saw her mother's reaction, she knew how much the place meant to her, and how excited she looked to see it this way.
"It's beautiful." Mary gasped out, not even hearing about the surprise, it really was beautiful, the motel she had always dreamed it would be.
"And it can be yours again." Spencer and Alison had decided that once Mary was free, she would take over as the owner, as it was always rightfully hers. All she and Alison had done was help it along with the proper funding.
Mary shook her head, "No, it's yours and Alison's, I'm not going to take my going away present back, especially not while Alison's mad at me." She looked as a smile grew on her daughter's face, one that she knew meant something. "What?"
"Nothing, let's just go inside, so you can really see the changes." Spencer said with a smile, knowing that the woman would be more than happy with what was behind the door.
When Mary walked in, she was greeted by much more than a refurbished motel, she was greeted by the last thing she had expected to see, her family.
Alison and Emily were standing by the door, Lily in Alison's arms, Grace in Emily's. "Welcome Home!" They both shouted together, and the twins made a giggling noise as their own way of welcoming their great aunt.
Mary couldn't believe her eyes, she turned back to Spencer. "You did this, all of this, for me?" She looked back at the couple standing in front of her, realizing they were holding twins in their arms.
"Alison, Emily." Mary began, stepping forward to wrap her arms around the girls. "You're mothers." She couldn't be prouder of her niece, and felt horrible for missing all of this.
Alison handed Lily to Spencer, moving forward so she could embrace Mary finally. "I'm sorry we couldn't come to pick you up, we didn't think bringing the twins to a prison would be a good idea." She nuzzled her head into Mary's shoulder, holding onto her aunt tightly.
"I missed you." Mary said letting her tears flow, as she held onto her niece, who was now a new mother. "I'm so sorry, Alison, I'm so sorry about Jessica." She finally got out, still feeling the need to apologize even though Alison didn't seem mad.
"Don't, don't apologize." Alison said, pulling away from her aunt now and looking her in the eyes. "I know what happened, and you did what you had to do. The past is in the past." She didn't want Mary to worry about it, not anymore.
"I think it's time we introduce you to the twins, officially." Emily said with a smile, lightening the mood from the rehashing of the grim fate of Jessica Dilaurentis.
Alison took Lily back from Spencer's arm, nuzzling her nose against the young girl's before holding her properly in her arms again. "This is Lily." She announced, and Lily flashed her best smile, always having been the show off.
Emily bounced Grace up and down, "This is Grace." She knew it would take Mary a while to get used to the change, but the woman seemed open to the twins.
Mary smiled at the two outgoing girls, her face glowing at the sight of them. "How do you tell them apart?" She knew it would be a challenge not to confuse which of her great nieces was which.
"Lily wears the pink bow, Grace wears the purple bow." Alison explained, looking at her little girls who were smiling widely.
"I've been trying to convince them to just get a label maker and label them, it would save everyone a lot of trouble." Spencer joked with a smile, catching a glare from Alison, and a laugh from Mary.
Alison rolled her eyes, finding the joke a little funny, not that she would admit it. "We are not labeling our children, literally labeling." As Spencer continued to smirk, proud of her joke, Mary noticed that Lily had taken an interest in her, the little girl smiling and making faces at her.
"Hi Lily." Mary cooed with a smile, she had never been able to raise her children, so she was always extremely happy around other babies. Lily smiled, reaching her tiny hand out to grab onto Mary's finger. The little girl seemed to be naturally happy around Mary.
"I think she likes you." Alison observed upon seeing Lily reaching out of her hold. She passed Mary the girl, trusting her aunt completely with her child.
Mary was hesitant, not sure about Alison's confidence in her. "Are you sure…? I don't know if this is a good idea..." But as soon as she saw the little girl's smile, and how comfortably she was resting in her arms, all of her hesitation was gone.
"It seems like she loves you, it usually takes her a while to warm up to people, but it looks like you've already won her over." Alison observed that Mary was a natural with the child, and wondered if any of it had to do with not getting to raise her own children. Emily, however, was questioning who had really won over who.
"You're such a good girl." Mary said with a smile, causing Lily to giggle again. She bounced the girl up and down, feeling genuinely happy to hold a baby again. She immediately felt immense love for her great niece, and knew this would be the start of something magical between them.
Emily was still holding Grace, she turned her nose up at the smell coming from her diaper. She turned to Spencer, a slight smile on her face. "It's your turn for diaper duty."
Spencer groaned, rolling her eyes. "Really? Didn't I just have my turn?"
Alison laughed, turning to Emily who was smiling just as wide. "I can pull out the tally notebook, but I really don't think it's necessary."
"Fine, fine, you win." Spencer said, looking at the little girl in question as Emily passed her off. "We'll be right back."
When Spencer had left the room, an awkward silence took her place. It was just Emily and Alison standing in front of Mary, and she had no idea what to say, where to even start. She looked at the two, and then back to the little girl in her arms, tears forming in her eyes as she spoke. "I always knew you two would end up together."
"Really?" Alison asked, she wasn't aware that Mary was aware of their relationship.
Mary chuckled at Alison's shock, "You two weren't very subtle, I'll tell you that." She observed as a blush grew on Alison's face, Emily not seeming phased at all besides a slight smirk on her face.
Emily looked at Alison, feeling the need to explain. "When you were locked in Welby, I had no other choice but to go to Mary, nobody else believed me when I said you were in trouble." She turned to Mary again, "But Mary, she believed me, and together we got you out."
"I could see how in love you two were, even while heavily drugged and locked up." Mary said, she would've had to be blind not to. "And seeing where you are now, it's beautiful to have been a part of it." Mary finished, looking down at the beautiful child the two women had created, amazed still at all she had missed in the year she was away.
"I have to admit, I was worried about telling you this." Alison explained, moving forward to take Lily out of Mary's arms. "I guess I didn't have anything to worry about, because you were one of the main reasons we ended up together."
"I was afraid as well, I thought none of you would want anything to do with me." Mary admitted, as long as they were all being completely honest. "I'm honored to be a part of your beautiful family, and I'm extremely proud of both of you."
"Thank you." Emily said the two unspoken words finally, she had wanted to thank the woman for a year now, something nobody else had done. She got Alison out of Welby, took the fall for Dunhill's murder, and now she was back supporting them wholeheartedly.
Alison still had one question though, something that had been on her mind for a while. "Forgive me for asking, but how did you get out?"
Spencer came back into the main office, holding a newly changed Grace. She answered the question for Mary, "My mom, Veronica, got her out." She said with a smirk, remembering back to their conversation in the car. "It didn't take nearly as much convincing as I thought it would." She handed Grace back to Emily, seeing that she was becoming fussy.
"I got lucky, lucky to have her on my side, lucky to have all of you still on my side." Mary said with a smile, wiping at her tears again. "Thank you girls."
Alison smiled, "Hold on, you haven't even seen the cabins yet, you haven't seen your cabin." She hoped Mary would love what she and Spencer had done to the place.
"Mine?" Mary asked, as Spencer took her hand. Alison and Emily's arms were full with the twins. Spencer led her to the first cabin, the one closest to the main office.
Mary looked around the outside, seeing that the wood had been restored on all of the cabins, fairy lights hung from poles, lighting the once gruesome pathways, the gruesome pathways now paved. The girls had really outdone themselves.
"When we heard you were being released, we knew you would need a cabin to live in, so we took the liberty of setting it up for you." Emily explained, she had helped a small amount with the process, but she gave most of the credit to Spencer and Alison.
Spencer threw the door open, allowing Mary to step in and get the first view. The older woman was in awe, "Girls, it's… it's magnificent." She didn't know what else to say, had no words to describe how nice the room was.
It was much bigger than she had expected, obviously having been through an upgrade. It had New everything, new walls, new wood floors, a new bed. A fireplace was also a new addition, and Mary knew it would be helpful in the winter. It was hard for her to believe this was the same cabin she had once lived in, way back when. The only thing that looked familiar, was her closet. She opened the door, finding all of her old clothes and belongings she had left behind in it.
A tear came to Mary's eye when she saw a crowbar, the same crowbar she had passed to Spencer the first time she visited her in this room.
"I see you found your old stuff." Alison commented, when she and Spencer were first gifted the motel, they had found all of Mary's belongings still in her room. From clothes, to old pictures and documents, and all of it had been restored back to it's original place.
Mary was crying, hating herself for being this emotional. "I can't believe I'm crying over a crowbar right now." She said, laughing at herself, touching it carefully as if to not disturb an artifact. The crowbar to her was a staple in her relationship with her daughter.
Upon hearing this, Spencer walked over, wrapping an arm around her mother. "I figured you'd appreciate it. I actually found it when I went through this place, it's been here ever since."
Mary threw her arms around Spencer, really appreciating the heartfelt gesture of not just the crowbar, but every little detail that had gone into this.
Emily smiled, looking at the scene thoughtfully. "Give a woman a whole cabin, and she likes the crowbar the best." Alison hit her arm, still finding the comment a little humorous.
Mary smiled, looking around the room again. "I still can't believe you did all of this for me." She had a new home, a new business, and most importantly, a new family.
"The Lost Woods wouldn't be the Lost Woods without you." Alison explained, looking around this place, and for the first time, really appreciating the history behind it.
"And our small, but messed up family wouldn't be our family without you." Spencer added onto Alison's statement, taking Mary's hand again and giving it a confident squeeze. She hated to think that Mary thought they would ever turn on her, when all they had wanted was to fill the hole she left behind in their hearts.
"We got your car back." Emily contributed to the last two statements, not knowing what else to say. This caused all three women to laugh. "What?" she questioned, not seeing anything wrong with the statement.
Alison smiled, her fiancé really meant well. "That was really heartfelt, Em."
"I figured she'd want to know we got her car back, kill me for having common sense." Emily threw the hand that wasn't holding onto Grace into the air.
Spencer turned to Alison, a smirk on her face. "I think we need to get some food, your fiancé is starting to get cranky."
Alison giggled, and Emily could still hear them despite the low whispering. "I heard that! And I'll have you know I'm not cranky, I'm just a little hangry." She argued with her two best friends, feeling like it was back to the good old days before any of this happened, when she could just be herself again.
"Some good food sounds great right about now." Mary backed up Alison and Spencer's suggestion. "I haven't eaten anything but prison slop and some stale bread in a year." She hated to even think about the horrible food she was served in prison, and hoped that the normal food in Rosewood was a little better.
"Well let's go get you your first real Rosewood meal." Spencer said with a smile, "The Apple Rose Grille is a perfect place to continue our tour, and we can finish catching you up on all you missed."
Just hearing the word 'meal' sold Mary on the plan, and she watched as the three girls, and two twins walked out of the cabin, chattering amongst themselves about calling a babysitter, and what they might order.
Emily turned back, looking at Mary with slight concern. "You okay?" Spencer and Alison had already continued walking on.
"I'm fine." Mary tried to explain, wiping her tears out of her eyes. "I just still haven't processed this, any of this."
The swimmer nodded, she could understand that. Mary's world had changed drastically in the last two hours, going from a convicted felon, to a free woman. Not only that, but a free woman with a family that loved and accepted her, something she'd never had before.
"Well, I'm going to call Toby to babysit." Emily began, looking back at Grace who was resting comfortably in her arms. "It'll give you some time to yourself in here, do all of the processing you need to." Emily turned to leave, baby in hand, trying to pull her phone out of her pocket with the other.
"Emily." Mary called out, causing the woman to stop in place. She turned around, curious as to why she was being called back. Mary smiled, "Thanks for getting my car back."
Emily couldn't help but chuckle, finding that the older woman had not lost her sense of humor from her year in jail. If anything, the experience had humbled her. "Anytime." She replied simply, leaving Mary to her own thoughts.
Mary walked back into the cabin, her thoughts muddling through her head, a mix of happy and sad. She moved over to the fireplace, seeing now that there were pictures on the mantle, something she hadn't noticed before. She surveyed them closely, looking at them one at a time. The first was Spencer, it was from when she was still a teenager, one of the rare photos she ever saw her daughter smiling in. The second was Charlotte, it was the same picture she had looked at that night with Dunhill in Alison's house. She ran her hand over the picture frame, mourning, if only for a second, her lost child. The last was a more recent picture of Emily, Alison, and the twins. She wasn't sure if she was mixing up the twins again, but if she was right, it was Lily making the same goofy face she had given her earlier.
She placed the photo of Emily, Alison and the twins down, an odd sense of finality washing over her. All she had ever wanted was for Spencer and Alison to be happy, and they looked happy to her. Alison and Emily had twin girls, they had managed to start a family in all of this mess, Spencer looked happy to just be with her family, although she inferred something had happened with Toby. But as long as they were happy in some way, that meant she had done her job, she had saved their lives, given them new ones in replacement of the ones she ruined. Now that they were finally happy, Mary knew she didn't have to play the protector any longer, now she had a new role to play, a new goal to reach.
That goal was simple, but yet difficult as it was one she had strived for, for as long as she could remember; finding her own happy ending in the world around her.
"Hey Mom?" Spencer asked, Mary snapped out of her daze and realized the girl had been sitting next to her for who knows how long.
"Sorry, I was just… thinking, and I got distracted." Mary explained, turning to her daughter now and offering a smile.
Spencer nodded, she imagined how much thinking it took to process all of the information they had given her. "Well, Toby's here to babysit so we figured we'd head out now. Are you still up to coming with us?"
Mary considered this for a moment, taking into account her rumbling stomach, it would also take time for her body to adjust to not being on a prison schedule. "I'm starving." She said with a smile, taking Spencer's hand.
Spencer led her out of the cabin a smile on her face as she began to ramble on, "The food at the Apple Rose Grille is really good. They have great salads and sandwiches and we've been going there since we were kids…"
"Don't forget about the wine!" Alison added in with a smirk, "It's been my favorite since I gave birth to these two."
Toby was sitting with the two girls, listening to Emily's instructions closely, but he managed to shoot a smile towards Spencer, and Mary raised her eyebrows, causing Spencer to blush.
"Toby, are you listening?" Emily asked, having seen that his attention was elsewhere. "You're really going to flirt with her in front of her mom?"
This caused Mary to chuckle, being called Spencer's mom by someone else seemed a little surreal. "Don't mind me." She said with an innocent smile, she wasn't about to get in the way of Spencer and Toby.
"It's nice to finally have you home, Mary." Toby said with a smile, already trying to charm the woman that would one day be his mother in-law. He returned his focus to Grace, who was still acting a little fussy from earlier.
In that moment, Mary realized something important. This was her happy ending in the world, hand in hand with her daughter, watching her fall in love again. Listening to her niece ramble on about one thing or another, watching her niece in-law fuss over their children. It wasn't by any means a normal family, but it was hers, and she loved it.
"It's nice to be home." Mary said finally, no longer unsure about where her home really was. Her home, her happy ending, was here with her family, here in the Lost Woods, and she couldn't ask for anything better.